Bouncer
by LaylaBinx
Summary: Maggie gets some unexpected help after a rough night out. Rated for attempted rape and violence. Fluffy stuff as well! Hope you like!
1. Author's note

**Hello all! Once again, thank you so much for all of your comments, they really make me happy. Also, all of the tips I got for making my story better were very helpful!! Honestly, I needed to do some touch ups before anyone else read this. Personally, I don't think this is one of my better stories and felt that it was a little thrown together but I liked the paring and thought it may be interesting to write. I'm much more comfortable writing Bumblebee and Sam fan fics (my all time favorite pairing!!) but I felt like I wanted to challenge myself with this one. Also, I may add another chapter yet but I'm not quite sure just yet. Oh well, guess you'll just have to wait and see! (grins) Thanks again!! Much love!!**

**Laylabinx**


	2. Bouncer

**Huzzah! New story and new pairing! Whee! Hope you like it!**

Thick, grey smoke hung in a haze around the lights of the bar, making the already dim light even harder to see through. Maggie blinked a few times trying to get rid of the sting from the smoke but to no avail.

A bar like this was actually the last place she wanted to be but considering it happened to be the only place well-lit enough and open, it was worth a shot. She had been in the library earlier that night but the tired librarian finally kicked her out around 11:30, about 3 ½ hours after the library was supposed to have closed.

It wasn't her fault. The fact that Keller had given her a file about as thick as the fifth Harry Potter book and expected her to have it not only read but have a presentation ready for it as well by Friday was a little demanding even by her standards.

Reading in her apartment was out considering the single mother with four kids lived to the left and the nympho couple who liked to noisily make love lived to the right. Also, all the coffee shops in town were over-run by geeky 14-year-olds who thought they were cool and hippies this time of night. Not the good hippies either, the bad ones. The kind that liked to bitch and moan about current politics and disagree with everything you say, then have the audacity to ask for some cash once they got through ripping you to shreds. Not only that but the fact that most of them hadn't seen or even been near a shower for about a week was a little perturbing as well.

So, here she was. Sitting in a hazy bar, surrounded by drunks, working in a corner that smelled a lot like urine and was probably covered in it. Maggie cracked her knuckles and looked down at her watch. 1:24, Thursday morning. Shit. Only one more day to read through about 200 more pages and then come up with an entire presentation to round it all up.

Twisting a pencil into her green-streaked hair, she pinned it into a loose bun and stretched her back slowly. A series of satisfied pops ran up her spine and she instantly felt more tired than she had before. Debating between the can of Red Bull and the pint of Guinness she'd been working on, Maggie finally decided on the energy drink and took a long gulp. The sweet, syrupy drink made her wince but helped shake off the weariness that had temporarily overcome her.

Just then, two men who, until recently, had been sitting quietly in the background sidled their way over and took a seat on either side of her.

"Well, hey there darlin'" one started with a thick southern drawl. "What's a pretty thing like you sittin' waaaay over here for?"

Maggie barely looked up, absently tapping her pen as she absorbed herself in another paragraph. "Reading." She answered simply, not caring if she sounded rude or not.

Apparently, neither man noticed the iciness in her voice because they pressed on. "Seems like an awful hard read." The first man observed causing Maggie to instantly wonder what his reading level was. By the sound of his grammar, she guessed it wasn't too high.

The other man leaned over her shoulder, glancing over what she was reading. "The Coded Word: A New Look Into the Abstract Concept of a Computerized Nation." The man let out a short humorless laugh. "Sounds like you got a lot to look into, sweetheart. What's so great about computers anyway? Just a buncha big dumb machines."

Maggie felt a tight smirk pull at the side of her mouth. Apparently neither of these guys knew about the importance those "dumb machines" had had in saving the planet they were currently squatted on. Instead of playing up their ignorance, which would have been incredibly easy, she opted for a more subtle approach. "Wow, your opinion is absolutely fascinating and all, but I really have some work I need to finish, so if you'll excuse me…"

To her mild surprise and growing irritation, the man to her right scooted closer to block her into the corner. "Come on now, sweetheart. Don't be like that. We just want to have an…intelligical conversation with you."

Maggie thought about laughing at the mispronunciation but decided against it in the sense that she was more frustrated than amused. "No, thank you." She said, pushing her foot against the bar stool he'd been perched on and promptly shoving it, and him, to the wall.

His partner laughed at his misfortune and immediately took his place in the pick-up circle. "So," he drawled, wrapping his finger around a stray strand of streaked hair. "What would it take for us to find out if the carpet matches the drapes?" he asked, tossing an arm around her shoulders.

Maggie ducked out of the movement easily and sidestepped him. "Wow, such chivalry!" she exclaimed in a bubblegum-sweet voice. "I bet that works with all the women. It would certainly explain why you're both here alone."

She didn't wait for the insult to sink in as she grabbed her folder and downed the rest of the Guinness in one gulp. "Gentlemen," she started, regarding both of them. Wiping the corner of her mouth with her sleeve, Maggie curtsied sweetly and flicked both men off. "It was a pleasure meeting you and even more of pleasure leaving."

And with that, Maggie turned on her heel and breezed out of the bar, much to the surprise of the harmless drunks that had been eying her earlier that night.

A crisp, autumn breeze weaved its way down the street as Maggie stomped home. Her irritation only continued to grow as she replayed the men's lewd comments and sloppy advances in her mind.

Maybe it was her mind being focused on the file or the fact that those assholes had so blatantly hit on her (without any class!) that caused her to drop her guard. Either way, despite the genius she was, Maggie failed to notice "those asshole" had followed her out of the bar.

And, despite the obvious abnormality of the situation, none of the three noticed the low, rumbled growl of an engine in an alley a few streets back.

Maggie let out an irritated growl of her own as she turned to see her followers. "What do you want?" she asked, the anger clearly evident in her voice.

"We just wanna talk!" One yelled, apparently not realizing she was close enough to smell the alcohol on him by this point.

"Well, sorry! But I'm not in much of mood for talking!" She growled back, turning and walking a little faster, trying to put distance between herself and her followers.

A sudden, violent jerk on her wrist caused her to tumble backwards into the arms of one of the men. With one rough shove, she was pinned to the wall, the bricks grinding into her back.

"You just keep walking away." Her attacker purred, leaning forward like he was going to kiss her.

"And yet you keep persisting." Maggie purred back, jerking her knee up into his crotch hard enough to make him gag. What neither man knew was that Maggie was the youngest and only female of 4, causing her to take a lot of crap from her older, male siblings. Needless to say, she'd perfected the whole "knee-to-the-crotch" move by the time she was 9.

As the first man fell to his knees holding himself, the second made his move, this time a little more violently. Grabbing Maggie by the throat quicker than she had time to react, he threw her to the ground violently, twisting her arm behind her back and kneeling over her.

"Not so tough now, are we princess?" he growled. With the help of his partner, both men managed to flip the thrashing, struggling woman over.

"HELP! SOMEONE HEL-!" Maggie's screams were cut off as a violent slap caused her head to jerk to the side. She growled furiously, kicking and fighting with all of her strength but to no avail.

One hand ripped her shirt while another tried for her jeans. They were all over her, grabbing and touching roughly. A heavy hand pressed against her hip and another ripped the sleeve off her shirt.

Fear and panic clawed at Maggie's stomach. Screaming was useless considering she could only guess what the two might try once her mouth was open and her purse (and pepper spray) was several feet away, tossed to the ground carelessly. Hell-bent on not getting raped tonight, Maggie gritted her teeth painfully. With one final burst of adrenaline, she managed to kick off the man on top of her and scramble to her feet. Without looking back, she ran.

Fortunately, the final kick was enough to stun the men long enough to give her a head start. Unfortunately, they had already recovered and were now intent on catching her.

In a desperate attempt for help, Maggie grabbed a football off a trash can and threw it hard at a parked car. However, despite her best intentions, the car she'd originally been aiming for, a 2006 Mustang, was just slightly behind the car the ball hit: a 1989 Mazda. To her dismay, no alarm went off.

The high-beams of an oncoming car were her only other solution. It was either run out in front of traffic or get raped in an alley by two men whose combined IQ probably added up to 36. However, her thoughts were cut short as one of the men lunged for her, missed and ended up pushing her in front of the speeding vehicle.

Maggie hit the pavement hard, mentally anticipating the collision but was somewhat surprised when it didn't come. She was even more surprised when the car she'd landed in front of, a blue and red 18 wheeler, suddenly pulled to a stop and proceeded to not only stand up, but stand protectively in front of her.

In front of her, the two men gawked in a mixture of surprise and fear as the large, standing 18 wheeler in front of them produced and sword that easily julienne them with very little effort.

"**A very bad decision**." The robot growled in a low, deathly serious voice. The enormous blade swung down, barely missing their heads and positioned right above them so that if it had come down, the results would be devastating. "**Leave. Now**."

Very little persuasion was needed to cause both men to scramble off into the alley like scared rats. The large robot glared after their retreating forms for several minutes, making certain they wouldn't come back. Finally, after a long, awkward silence, he turned back to the stunned young woman on the ground. "**Are you alright**?"

Maggie could only stare for several seconds before she finally found her voice. "Oh God…you're one of those things…those car-bot things…" she stammered weakly.(1)

The "car-bot" nodded and crouched down so that he was eye level with her. **"Yes, I am an Autobot. But you may call me Optimus Prime."**

"Uhh huhh…"

"**And you are Margret Madsen, correct**?"

"It's Maggie. No one calls me Margret. I hate that…"

Human and robot stared at each other for a few more silent seconds. Maggie had remembered Sam saying something about him being the leader of the autobots, the good guys. But the fact that he was here, standing in front of her and had just rescued her from her would-be rapists was a little much to take in all at once.

"-**alright**?"

"Huh?"

"**I asked if you were alright**?" the large robot continued. Unbeknownst to her, Optimus had already done a thorough scan to check for injuries but the young woman's current mental state was somewhat questionable.

"Oh, yeah." Maggie answered quickly, realizing that the autobot actually seemed quite concerned with her physical well-being. It was then that she remembered her present appearance of ripped clothes and blushed brightly. "Ack!"

"**What**?"

"Those assholes ripped my shirt!" she exclaimed as if saying so would cause it to reverse. While she attempted to pull the ripped shirt over her chest to cover her bra, a deep growl echoed above her. Maggie looked up to see Optimus glaring off in the direction the two had run to, gripping his sword tightly.

"Hey, hey! It's alright!" she exclaimed quickly, trying to appease the irate robot. "I'm fine, really. It's just a shirt, no big deal."

Instead of responding, Optimus turned and scooped the young woman into his hand, lifting her off the ground. "**Where do you live**?"

"Uh…about a mile from here."

"**And you walked here by yourself? At night?"** came the incredulous response.

"Well no, I took a cab." Maggie answered sheepishly, feeling like she had just been scolded by her father. "I don't have a car so it's usually easier just to pay the fare."

Once again, Optimus didn't answer right away. After a few minutes of contemplation, a low rumble in the form of his voice emerged. **"We may have to solve that problem."**

****

(1) As far as I know, I don't think Maggie ever actually saw the autobots aside from maybe Bumblebee. I know she saw Megatron and frenzy but I think that was about it. 


	3. The problem with reports

The ride back to her apartment was…interesting to say the least. Maggie had never ridden in a big rig let alone one that could drive itself and walk if it wanted to. The big truck steered and turned with incredible ease as if it was one with the road. Pulling up easily in front of her apartment complex, the driver side door swung open and allowed her to climb out.

Once safely on the ground, Optimus Prime reversed slightly and slowly stood so he was towering over her. He looked around the neighborhood carefully as it approving her living conditions. Calculating the several floors of the building, Optimus looked down at the young woman inquisitively. "**What level do you live on**?"

"Huh? Oh! Third. Third floor." Maggie answered quickly, embarrassed at the fact she was stuttering. Being in front of something so intelligent and so much older than this entire planet was more than a little intimidating.

The autobot didn't seem to mind or notice and simply picked her up again, lifting her easily to the third story windows. "**Which one**?"

"Uh…forth on to the left." With one smooth movement, Maggie appeared in front of her window, peering inside. Immediately embarrassed by the messy state her living room was in, the young woman turned and pressed her back against the window to try and hide the mess.

Once again, Optimus simply blinked and barely seemed to register that he noticed anything.

Trying to keep as much of her living room hidden as possible, Maggie carefully and easily pried the screen off her window and pushed up the glass.

What was probably a gentle attempt to deposit her carefully into the apartment turned out to be a graceful tumble through an open window. Maggie landed hard on her butt and winced, letting a soft curse pass her lips.

"**Sorry**." Optimus apologized earnestly, watching as she stood and began pacing around the apartment, picking up random clothing articles and tossing them into a basket in the corner of the room.

Maggie grinned sheepishly. "Well, I'd invite you in and all but-" her statement ended as she noticed a small slip of paper pushed under her door. Walking over quietly, she picked up the paper and read over it carefully, immediately feeling her stomach drop.

Another eviction notice and a letter from Keller saying her needed the report by the next morning. The eviction wasn't that surprising actually. Despite what some people think, government pay is actually very low and the cost of living alone on this side of town was a little more expensive than Maggie had originally anticipated. Normally she got an eviction letter once every two months because her landlord was a bastard and just liked to issue them.

But now, as if she wasn't stressed enough, Keller wanted the report by tomorrow morning?! Maggie felt a throb behind her eyes from the migraine she knew was coming and sank to a chair sitting conveniently next to her.  
"**Margret? Is everything alright**?"

"Call me Margret again and I'll deactivate you." Maggie grumbled back, not able to hide the irritation in her voice.

Optimus normally wouldn't have given much consideration to that comment coming from anyone but her. However, not only was Maggie's threat believable, it was possible too. Maybe that was what the lead autobot had found so fascinating about her. The fact that Maggie was able to not only decode their language but could easily deactivate and rearrange their entire technological makeup made her a force to be reckoned with.

"**Maggie**." Optimus tried again. "**What's wrong**?"

Maggie sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "It's nothing." She lied, smiling tiredly at him. "I just have a lot of work I need to get done…" Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing herself for another night of no sleep (the 3rd night in a row); Maggie looked at Optimus once again.

"Thank you for everything, really. You saved my life."

The autobot gave the equivalent of a shrug. "**It was my pleasure, Maggie**."

Maggie smiled again and glanced at the note one more time. "Ugh…stupid report." She groaned to herself more than anything, automatically looking around for her folder.

A sudden claw of panic ripped through her when she realized she hadn't had it with her when they came back to the apartment. "Oh my God…" she groaned, her stomach rising to her throat and threatening to make her throw up. "Oh God…"

Optimus watched her worriedly. "**What's wrong**?"

"The folder!" Maggie cried, large tears of frustration and panic welling in her eyes. "The folder I had earlier! I dropped it and those jerks probably picked it up! Oh my God! Keller's going to fire me for sure…!"

Completely at a loss of what do to and tired beyond any possible stretch of imagination, Maggie did what any normal person would do: she fell to her knees and cried.

Today sucked! Not only had she almost been raped by two of the most ignorant men in town, her landlord wanted to evict her, her deadline for the presentation had been bumped up a day and she hadn't slept in three days, now the folder she needed, the folder that would ensure her job, was missing.

Maggie covered her face with her hands, digging her fingers into her messy, green-streaked hair. Tears streaked down her face and through her fingers as she cried.

Optimus, who, until now, had maintained a pretty level head, completely lost it at the sight of the young woman crying. Large lenses widened dramatically as he stared at Maggie weeping brokenly on the floor like a child. Desperate to remedy the young woman's dilemma, the large robot quietly snuck away, walking in the opposite direction of the apartment complex.

Maggie barely noticed and was currently trying to construct a way on telling Keller the truth about the folder without getting thrown in jail. Nothing seemed to work however which only made her feel more helpless. Realizing there was nothing left to do but wait until tomorrow when her career itself would be over, Maggie dejectedly stood and walked over to close the window.

Just then, a large, blue lens appeared in front of her causing her to jump. "Optimus…" she gasped, relieved to see him but unable to keep the tears from her voice. "I'm sorry but…I think you should go…I have some packing I need to do."

Upon seeing her blank look, Maggie took a shaky breath and clutched her (still ripped) shirt to her chest. "I'm probably going to get fired tomorrow and that means I'll have to leave…so…if you'll excuse me…"

Before she could turn to leave, one large, metallic finger rested on her shoulder and gently set a slightly dirty but intact folder on the window sill.

Maggie's eyes widened incredibly and before she could stop herself, she jumped out the window and flung her arms around Optimus Prime's neck.

The startled autobot barely caught her as she clung to him, holding his hand under her protectively to keep her from falling. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Maggie mumbled against his neck, holding onto him like a lifeline.

Optimus let himself chuckle gently as he wrapped a hand around her back in a gentle hug. "**You are welcome**." Carefully pulling the extremely relieved young woman away, he gently set her back in the room, nodding to the report. "**Shouldn't you get started on your presentation? It should be much simpler now that you have your folder, correct?"**

Maggie smiled through remaining tears and nodded, flipping open a laptop that was thinner than a DVD and typing furiously.

Optimus watched her through the night, encouraging her when she'd started to lose concentration and offering words of advice when she needed them.

Finally, at 8:42, Maggie saved the final copy of her presentation and closed the computer. She stood slowly, her body protesting the movement, and walked over to the window Optimus had been standing at. In his place, a large, blue and red 18 wheeler sat grumbling in the street.

Maggie nodded absently and slipped a sweatshirt on over her ripped shirt before running out the door to hop into her ride for the morning. A seatbelt hugged around her waist protectively and the truck shifted to drive, heading off in the direction of the Pentagon.

Keller met her outside, somewhat surprised at her choice of vehicle and even more surprised at the suspicious looking bruise on her cheek which she'd acquired the night before.

"Maggie, are you alright?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

Maggie nodded in return. "Yeah…you just have no idea what I went through to get done with this presentation." She chuckled, handing him the computer and preparing to follow him inside.

Keller stopped her with a pat on the shoulder and gently pushed her back towards the truck. "Go home and get some rest, Ms. Madsen. You're no good to us tired." The statement sounded harsh but they both knew it was his way of expressing concern.

The young woman smiled gratefully and nodded, stepping to the side as the passenger door swung open for her. As Maggie climbed inside, Keller eyed the mysterious truck carefully. Once the door had shut, he spoke quietly.

"You take care of her. She's one of my best."

Not really expecting a response, Keller jumped a little when the truck honked its horn in acknowledgement of his request. Ever mindful of its occupant, the 18 wheeler carefully pulled out into traffic and headed back in the direction of his driver's apartment.

Keller watched them disappear around a corner and laughed softly to himself. "Young people and their toys." He muttered, heading inside to give Maggie's presentation.


	4. Front seat confessional

**Optimus is very OOC in this story so I'm sorry if that's kind of weird but I was aiming for a sweeter, fluffier side of our favorite big rig. Also, contrary to popular belief, this is not romance. (not that that wouldn't be adorable )**

The large truck grumbled to a stop at a red light, its engine vibrating restlessly. Maggie glanced around the busy intersection, her mind circling over about one hundred things at once. Last night had been a blur to say the least. Between scrambling to finish the report and making it acceptable enough to ensure her job, she barely had time to think about the events that had happened earlier that night.

Maggie's back stiffened a little as she realized just how close she had almost come to being raped or worse. She pulled one knee up to her chest protectively, the smell of mud and garbage that she had fallen in assaulting her senses. Shaking her head vigorously, Maggie tried to push away the rather unpleasant thoughts that were making themselves at home in her mind.

She was strong; she had to be in a city like this. There was no reason to get so worked up over something like that. The threat had been taken care of and more than likely wasn't going to happen again. Still, if Optimus hadn't shown up when he did…

The engine rumbled gently, temporarily relieving her of the thoughts pending behind where that last thought was leading to.

"**Is there something wrong?"** Optimus' voice questioned through the radio as the truck made a slow turn.

Maggie was somewhat startled by not only the question but the means by which it had been asked. She certainly didn't expect it to come from the radio. "You can speak through the radio?"(1) she asked incredulously, poking at the dials as if to prove it to herself. In retrospect, she realized she shouldn't be too surprised. This car could walk by itself after all.

**"Of course I can."** The radio replied, a hint of humor hanging on the edge of the words. **"However, that was not what I asked. Are you alright?"**

Maggie thought for a minute, contemplating her answer. On one hand she wanted to say no but figured it would be useless to complain about it now. Before she managed to say yes, though, the deep voice interrupted gently.

**"And don't say yes. I know its not true."**

"What?! How?"

Optimus laughed quietly before answering. **"I could feel your body stiffen and your heart rate accelerate. Those are usually signs of distress."**

An awkward silence filled the front seat as Maggie mentally berated herself for cringing. "I guess I just now started to remember what happened last night." She answered honestly, wrapping her arms around her waist carefully and looking down in an attempt to stave off the tears that were trying to make their way down her face. "I mean…if you hadn't come when you did-"

Once again, the thought was cut off by a deep, reassuring voice. **"But I did come and I was there." **Optimus answered softly, doing his best to placate the distressed young woman. **"Instead of focusing on what could have happened, focus on what didn't happen."**

His wise, simple words echoed through her head in a reverberating pattern, penetrating to her core. Slowly, Maggie nodded and rested her head against the window. "Thank you." She offered softly. "I never really got a chance to really than k you last night, but you saved my life."

The engine rumbled in content, the soothing voice filtering in over the speakers. **"You're welcome, Maggie."**

Weariness had begun to creep into the young woman's body and she sighed tiredly all of sudden. Desperate to stay awake until they got back to the apartment, she decided to change the subject.

"So how did you know where to find me? I never saw you until you were just **poof** there."

It was Optimus' turn to be hesitant. After a few seconds of silence, he finally answered, somewhat sheepishly.** "I've been following you for a little over a week now."**

**"**Why?"

Another silent pause greeted her question. "I was hoping you would become my driver." His voice mumbled.

Maggie giggled the embarrassed tone he'd taken on. "Well, why me? Not that I don't think this is one of the most amazing things that's ever happened of anything, but what made me so special? Why not Sam or Captain Lennox? Surely they would be more qualified."

The leader of the Autobots was slightly taken aback by the question. It seemed almost as if the young woman was questioning her worth among the original group. She had managed to tap into their language and knew more about computers than most people ever would and yet she thought she was unworthy of him?

**"I chose you because you are my match."** Optimus answered truthfully, keeping his words slow and clear so she understood perfectly. **"Sam was hand-picked by Bumblebee as Ironhide picked Captain Lennox. If I remember correctly, "A driver does not pick the car. The car picks the driver.""**

Maggie listened carefully, feeling a little embarrassed for asking in the first place. It was almost like she had questioned God why he made her the way she was instead of someone else.

**"I recognized your potential and decided that you were who was fit to be my driver."** Optimus continued, his voice more warm and gentle now. **"If, however, you do not wish to be with me, I will understand."**

"NO!" Maggie shouted, gripping the wheel tightly to prove her point. "No, not at all! I want to be your driver! I would love to be your driver!"

A deep, rumbling laugh shook the cab of the truck. **"Very well then."** The Autobot sighed, steering carefully down some of the back streets.

Maggie smiled lightly, the sudden outburst taking up the final ounce of alertness she had struggled to hold on to. Unbuckling the seatbelt carefully, she tucked her legs up on the seat and lay on her side, letting the gentle rocking of the car dull her senses.

The truck pulled to a slow stop in the parking lot behind her apartment complex but neither driver nor car made any motion of leaving the other. The engine rumbled softly, almost hypnotically and Maggie felt herself drifting.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly, the pull of sleep almost too much to bear.

**"Sitting."** the radio replied simply.

Maggie felt a small smile pull at her lips. "Why?"

**"So I can hold you like this."(2)**

That final comment, the one that assured her that he was here to stay and that she was safe, was what allowed Maggie to fall asleep in the front seat of a red and blue 18 wheeler named Optimus Prime.

**

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**(1) I figured when they're in their car forms this would be how they could talk. I know Bumblebee does it so maybe the other do as well.**

**(2)Not really intended to be a romantic comment per se. More along the lines of human contact, you know? It seems almost like a craving for human touch in a way.**

**Hope you enjoyed it! Love ya!!**


End file.
